Lassa column: Democratic proposal would promote 'Jobs Now'

There is widespread consensus that Wisconsin needs to do more to promote job creation. Our state ranks 42nd in the nation in job growth according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and our surrounding states are out-competing us for new business development. Yet the first bill to come to the Senate floor was a bill to strip the secretary of state of his power to publish laws. The people of Wisconsin expect Democrats and Republicans to work together to reverse our economic slump. They need real action on job creation, and they need it now.

That is why I joined with my Democratic colleagues in both the Senate and the Assembly to introduce a package of bills appropriately entitled "Jobs Now." These seven legislative initiatives are common-sense measures that the business community says will help them create good-paying new jobs quickly. Several of them have had bipartisan support in the past, because they directly address the biggest challenges to business growth in Wisconsin.

By far the greatest of these challenges is the "skills gap." Even though hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin citizens are unemployed, good-paying positions remain empty because businesses can't find workers with the skills they need. Our technical colleges are doing the best they can, but long waiting lists exist for many training programs. In response, we've introduced the Workforce Growth Program, a competitive grant program that would build the ability of our technical colleges to train more individuals for jobs in high-demand industries. Under the bill, tech colleges would partner with area business and economic development groups to target training toward in-demand skills; the grants would help the schools expand their capacity to train more students in these skills.

The other element businesses say is holding back job creation is access to investment capital. Two bills in the Jobs Now package will attract more investments to help small businesses grow. One proposal will make the state's current capital investment tax credit programs refundable, helping to attract investments from large out-of-state institutions, such as pension funds, that don't have Wisconsin tax liability. The second program would create grants based on a company's business activities that would qualify it for tax credits, helping the company secure a commercial business loan. Both proposals will help small businesses, which create the lion's share of new jobs, get the investments they need to start and grow in Wisconsin.

Two other proposals in the package make sure the state is putting its money where its mouth is on job creation. One bill sets goals for state agencies to purchase at least 20 percent of materials and contractual services from Wisconsin-based businesses; the other requires the state to "Buy American" when it acquires building materials, reversing the current trend of buying prefabricated bridges and other infrastructure materials from China. These proposals will maximize the impact of state spending on building our own economy and creating jobs here at home.

All seven of the proposals in the "Jobs Now" package would have the immediate effect of promoting job growth in Wisconsin. They have the support of the business community, as well as bipartisan support in the Legislature; two of them were even on Governor Walker's special jobs session call last session. We can and should pass them quickly, and refocus our energies on the vital task of rebuilding our state's economy and putting people back to work.